The amount of content and the number of applications available for mobile device users continues to increase rapidly. In addition to the graphics and ring tones that have been available to mobile device users for some time now, content developers are increasingly making available to mobile device users games, music, videos, applications and the like.
However, for many mobile device users, finding and purchasing content for their mobile device has been cumbersome and inconvenient for a variety of reasons. Along with the increase of available content has come an increase in various content formats, delivery options and payment methods. For example, while many mobile devices can currently access the Internet when searching for content, each content developer has its own web site, thereby forcing end users to access different sites for each separate content item or application desired, typically a very time consuming process. Moreover, each content developer may generate content in a proprietary format or in a format incompatible with other content formats, leaving the end user with any number of content items that may be incompatible with one another or, worse, incompatible with the end user's mobile device. In addition, payment methods can differ from content developer to content developer, forcing end users to pay for content in different ways and to maintain payment ability in a variety of different formats.
Accordingly, the methods by which a mobile device user finds content, has that content delivered and pays for the content has become increasingly complex and frustrating. Mobile device users have needed a single system that integrates for end users the process of finding content, paying for content, and having that content delivered to their mobile device.